Rolling-mill.



II. G. oBIIIEN.

ROLLING MILL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I, 19H.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

r F T w L INvENToR 73am H. G. OBRIEN.

ROLLING MILL.

. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1. 1911.

Patented Aug. 14,1917. 3 SHEETS-SHEET INVENTOR WITNESSES H. G. OBRIEN.

ROLLING IIIILL. APPLICATION FILED F'ELLI. I9I7.

Patnted Aug. 14, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 INVENTQR HENRY'G. OIBRIEN, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROLLING-MILL.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY G. OBRIEN, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a citi- Zen of the United States, have invented or discovered `certain new and useful Improvements in Rolling-Mills, of which improvements the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rolling mills, and particularly to continuous mills: that is to say, mills in which the article under treatment, after having been brought to rolling condition,-which, ordinarily, means high temperatureis passed in immediate sequence-through a succession of mills. The invention resides in the arrangement of mills; and, while it may be practised in continuous mills of various kinds, I have applied it and shall here show and describe it inapplication to mills for rolling hot strips of steel or other metal.

It will be understood that I mean to include within the scope of my patent, the invention as applied to continuous mills of all sorts.

The objects of my' improvements are econromv and facility in operation.

The accompanying drawings illustrate ahot strip mill in rwhich the improvements constituting my invention are incorporated.

Figure 1 (continued on three sheets as Figs.`

la, 1b, le) Shows the mill in plan. Figs. 23, and 4 are fragmentary views to much larger scale and show in vertical section the adjacent portions of the pairs of rolls in proper relative positions which form the individualmills 1, 2 and 4 presently to be described. Each of these three Figs. 2, 8, and 4, is set opposite the individual mill which illustrates specifieatim of Letters Patent.

\ formed of twenty-inch rolls, mills 7 to 11 of' it; that is to say, Fig. 2 shows in profile the mill2, and Fig. 4 the roll pass of mill 4. Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of the rolls ently. These rolls are shown detached from the rest of the machinery but -in proper relative position forcoperation, and the ligure is set opposite the edging machine 6 as it appearsin the generalview, Fig. 1". Fig.. 6 is a view in side elevation and in some respects a diagrammatic showing of mills 10, and 11. together with their driving apparatus; this view would be g'ot by taking a section on a planeindicated by the line VI-VL Fig. 1b. Fig. 7 is a view in longivroll pass of mill 1, Fig. 3 the roll pass ofA of the edging machine 6 to be described presshape them to strips.

ratentea aug. ia, ieri.

Application led February 1, 1917. Serial No. 145,895.

tudinal vertical section Athrough the edging machine 6 (Fig. 1b) and it illustrates particularly the guides employed.

I pause' to explain-what, perhaps, is obv1ous-that, in these matters, the term mill is used in two senses: Primarily, the word means a pair of rolls (with supporting and driving parts), between which an article under treatment is entrained; by extension, the word is applied to groups of such pairs of rolls; and, then, with still another shade of meaning, to the entire building or plant in which the rolling operations are performed. I have already used the term in its broader and more general sense, in saying that the drawing shows a hot strip mill. More precisely speaking, it shows the entire assembly of instrumentali'ties which, acting in correlation, receive slabs o r billets and This assembly includes a number of mills (using the term in its particular and more accurate sense) in this instance there are eleven such mills, indicated in order from the receiving to the delivery end of the whole by the numerals 1 to 11. The particular number is not significant, nor important. The drawing, however, shows an actual installation.

Each of these eleven mills consists essentially of a pair of rolls mounted in suitable housings and with suitable accessory appliances and fittings. are driven by suitable machinery. In this particular case mills 1 to 5 inclusive are sixteen-inch rolls; and, using the word mill again in looser sense, the assembly of rollstands 1 to 5 is commonly spoken o-fas the twenty-inch mill,7 and the assembly of roll-stands 7 yto 11 as the sixteen-inch mill. The roll-stand 6l is unique in certain respects, as will presently appear, and is commonly spoken of as the. edging machine. It is of course to be understood that the dimensions of the rolls-both absolute and The,r0lls of each mill invention. V I am describing an actual in- I stallation.

12 is a heating furnace; it may be of any preferred form. From it slabs and billets are delivered to a conveyer table 13. The construction and mode of operation of this table (though these matters 'are' indicated in the drawings) form no part of my invention.

It will be observed that the mills are arranged in a' plurality of rows, -so that throughout each row the material advances through one mill after another in a direct line of advance, in a single line of entraining; and, then, after passing through the mills of one row, the material is transferred, to pass through the mills of the succeeding row. In the iirst row are arranged the mills 1 to 8 inclusive; in the second, `mills 9 and 10; and, in the third, mill 11 stands alone. The particular grouping, and the particular number of mills in each row, are not important. Preferably, and for the con` venient accomplishment of my invention, these rows of mills are arranged side by side in parallel arrangement: that is to say, the successive lines of entraining, A-B, C-D, and E-F are parallel. The mills 7 10, and 11 are arranged opposite one another, in a line G--H transverse to the lines of 'entraining previously alluded to; and mills 8 and 9 are situated on one side of this transverse line, while all the other mills (16, inclusive) are arranged on the other side of this line.

The successive instrumentalities which operate upon the advancing material may be briey noted and characterized. The slab orbillet as it advances upon table 13, and before entering the roll-pass of mill 1, passes a horizontal shear 14. The provision of a shear at this point isadvantageous, inthat the slab or billet as it passes to the mill can 'be cut to the length required. This makes for economy, reducing the amount of scrap trimmed from the fabricated or partly fabricated material.

The first mill, 1, is an edger; that is to say, a mill which engages the opposite edgesof the slab or billet, and reduces it in the matter of width. The rolls of this mill are grooved rolls, and they. receive the slab or billet when turned so as to stand on edge, in vertical position. The profile of the rollpass of this mill 1y is shownl to larger scale in the fragmentary sectional view, Fig. 2.`

Thus, in this irst edging pass, the scale is loosened and lis freely separated from both faces of the article.

The second mill, 2, is a iiat, a mill of smooth-surfaced rolls, between whichy the material turned to horizontal position is engagedover its opposite extended surfaces,l

and reduced in the matter of thickness.

This is indicated in Fig. 3, a fragmentary;

ters mill 2.v In the actual installation whichv I have made this distance is 15 feet.`

The third mill, 3, is again a flat, and,

since there is no turning, there is no such necessity for space between mills 2 and 3 as between mills land 2. In the installation I have referred to the placement of the machinery makes this distance 13 feet. Mill 4 is a second edger, the rolls are grooved. The profile of the roll-pass of this mill 4 is shown to larger scale in the sectional view, Fig. 4. The material after passing from mill 3 and before entering mill 4 must be turned from horizontal to vertical position.

Mill 5 is again a flat, and, accordingly, the material passing from mill 4 in vertical position, is turned to horizontal to enter mill 5.

In rolling relatively wide strips (which ordinarily are relatively short) it is, generally speaking, necessary that the material be entirely freed from one mill before it is turned (from horizontal to vertical position, or from vertical to horizontal) to enter the next succeeding mill; but, in rolling relatively narrow strips, a point is reached when the article has been so far reduced in thickness that its 4forward end advancing to a millpass may be turned through an angular rotation of 90 while its rear end remains still engaged in the pass vof the next adjacent mill. In the actual installation which I am describing the interval between mills 3 and 4 is 32 feet, and the interval between mills val, 32 feet, may be twisted to properly enter the successive roll passes.

Mill 5 is the last of the mills with twentyinch rolls; mills 7-11 are equipped with 4sixteen-inch rolls; and, excepting only i the edging machine 6, all the remaining mills (641) are flats The edging machine 6 is the last instrumentality directly determining the width of the strip. The rolls of the edging machine are vertically arranged, so there is no turning of the strip as it passes from the lFflat mill' 5, nor is there any turning of the strip as it advances from the. edging machine 6 to the next succeeding mill 7, which also is a flat The vertically arranged rolls of the edging machine,v (it will be understood that in all these matters I am describing an actual installation, in which the invention is exemplified) are adjustable in their spacing; they are grooved to receive the advancing material; and they are provided with a plurality of pairs of opposite grooves, ordithrough the edging machine 'is accom-` plished by the instrumentalities shown in Fig. 7. j Upper and lower plates 29 and 30 form a passageway for the advance of the strip. This passageway will ordinarily flare both rearwardly and forwardly, as shown '1n the drawings. A conveyer plate 31 carries the material advancing from mill 5 to the passageway formed by and between plates 29 and 30 above and below and the rolls constituting the edging machine 6 on either side. Plates 29 and 30 are, as has been said, vertically adjustable, to guide the advancing material through one or another of the plu- :rality of passes through the edging machine.

Mills 7-11 inclusive are all alike, in that they all are formed of sixteen-inch rolls, and in that they all are flats The spacing between successive mills in the same line Vis no longer of necessity sufficient to allow the article under treatment to pass in its entirety from one mill before entering an other. Suitable tables are provided, extending to the 'rst mill and from the last mill, and in the intermediate spaces between mills; these tables are of suitable construc-- tion, but with them my invention is not pridirection yof advance in adjacent rows is reversed.) And, in like manner, the transfer devices 16 carry the .material from the delivery end D of the second row. to the re ceiving end .E of the third. These transfer devices will of course be multiplied as the number of rows of mills is multiplied. Suchv devices are well known, and particular description of ythem is here unnecessary. 'Y n In addition, there is a transfer device 17 for engaging material, while still in row A-B and before it reaches the last mill 8 in thaty row, and for carrying it to row C-`D, at a point between mills 9 and 10. Thus mills 8 and 9 may be cut out and the rollingoperation -shortened accordingly. The signiiicanceand value of this will presently be. dwelt on. It will be understood,

and should be `noted. here passing, that (but for the provision presently to be described), in order to allow the material to be so transferred from line A-B to lline C-D before mill 8 is reached, mill 8 should be remote from mill 7 at a sufficient interval to allow the entire article to come through mill 7 from end to end without reaching to mill 8, that it may be transferred by apparatus 17. The actual distance between mills 7 and 8 in the installation to which I have made repeated reference is 55 feet.l

I have just alluded to a provision which, in so far as it may be resorted to, requires a modification of the last statements. Mills 8 4and 9 may be removable, so that they may when desired be picked up by cranes and set aside; the spaces between the conveyer tables left by their removal may be bridged by suitable plates, and then it will be understood the material advancing from mill 7 may be of such length'as to extend beyond the point where mill 8 normally stands, and transfer devices 15 and 17 may coperate to carry the material from the line ofentraining A-B to the line C-D.

I have said that the particular construction of the transfer tables forms no part of my present invention. It will, nevertheless, be apparent to any mill man reading my drawings that the tables are in the main tables whose surfaces are equipped with and indeed consist of live rolls-that is to say, power driven rolls. I note here a circumstance and feature of construction which, though aside from my invention, may well be mentionedy in a description of this particular installation: The tables on the delivery side' of mill 8 and on the feed side of mill 9 are not roll-equipped. This is a.

suitable receiver. This receiver Imay be a reel 28, or it may be a storage table 19 arf ranged adjacent table 18 to which the finished material may be-borne by suitable transfer mechanism.' On thisLtable' 19 anaccumulation of successively rolled strips may collect, cooling; and from this table w19 the cooled strips may one by one be transferred againto the table 20 on which they are carried to shears 21. I have said that a reel for the finished strip ,may be placed at the remote end of table 18; it maybe placed elsewhere, if desired; for' instanceggiit may be placed adjacent mill 11, on its delivery side, and beside the proximate end of table 18, where. I have set the reference letter X.

It remains to speak of the driving mechanism, and of the speed ofthe rolls. Mills 1-5 inclusive are, it will be observed, driven from a single source of power, 1n this case the electric motor 22; the edging machine 6 v high speed), asshown, or, transferred to` is driven byits own motor 23; mill 7 -is driven by motor 24; mills 8 and 9, by motor 25; mill 11, by motor 26; while mill 10, arranged as has been said in intermediate position 'between mills 7 and 11, is so connected that it may, at pleasure, be driven, together with mill 7, by motor 24:, or, together with mill 11, by motor 26.

It will be observed of mills 7-11, inclusive, that 8 and 9 are arranged to be driven by a single motor and are required to roll the material, one in one direction, the other in the other; and that mills 7, 10, and 11 are arranged to operate in pairs in like manner, 7 and 10 at one time forming such a pair, and 10-and 11 at another time. And it will be understood that, to effect these ends, mills 7, .8, and 11 (the mills which when aired with others stand `nearer the motorsg are three-high mills; and that, in each pair` of mills, the middle roll of the three coperates in one of the two mills'with the roll arranged above it, and, in the other mill, with the roll beneath; thus rolling in opposite directions is effected. Thisis illustrated in Fig. 6-in some respects a diagrammatic showing of what appears in actual proportions in Fig. 1". Coupling members 32 may be employed, to connect mill l() either with motor 26 (of relatively point m, with motor 24 (of relatively low speed).

Variable speed motors are used throughout to drive the mills; and, following well established practice,the speed ofthe successive mills (and I this means, of course, the surface speed of the work-'engaging parts) increases, in accordance with the elongation of the material under treatment.

The speed of the rolls of the edging machine 6 is preferably separately adjustable, and is under immediate control of the operator, that, as operation proceeds, disturbances otherwise due to variations in speed of material advancing from mill 5 may be avoided. f i

Having now pointed out the essential characteristics of this mill, my invention may readily be particularized: It consists in doubling-theline of entraining upon itself, as in the lines of mills A--B and C-D ;l in arranging the three mills 7 l0, and 11 in alinement, and in driving them by two motors, the middle mill, 10, being capable of being driven from either; in arranging part of the mills (in this case 8 and 9) on, one side of this alinement of the mills 7, 10, and 11, while the other mills (in this case 1-6) are arranged on the .opposite side; and in providin the additional transfer mechanism 17, immediately beyond mill-7 and between it and mill 8. In other words, the instrumentalities co-act to efect a switching of the material in the course of its advance through the series of rolls. This switching effect, when resorted to, cuts out mills 8 and 9; and, accordingly, as mills 8 and 9 are used or are switched out, the mill 10 is connected either to be driven by the motor which drives mill 11, or by the motor which drives mill 7. If the strips are to be rolled to relatively line gage, say to a thickness of .125 inch or less, the entire series-of mills will be employed. In that case mill 10 will v `mill 10 is preferably connected to be driven by motor 24, and the material as it passes from mill 7 'is transferred from line A-B to line C-D and enters next mill 10, skipping imills 8 and 9. In this latter case, as has been said, mills 8 and 9 may, if desired, be set aside, and transfer mechanisms 15 and 17 may act as a single transfer mechanism to convey longer strips from line A-B to line C-D.

It` will be understood (and I have intimated as much in what has been said) that the mill I have now described (and again I use the Word mill in its general sense) is an actual embodiment of my-invention in a hot strip mill, and is described as an eX- emplary embodiment of it. My invention is not limited to details nor to what is circumstantial in the foregoing description.

- in the. line of feed to rearward of one of the intermediate mills to another point in advance of such intermediaate mill without passing through such mill, two mill-driving motors, and means for connecting a mill situated in advance of the intermediate mill mentioned either with one or with the other of the said motors. l

2. In a rolling-mill installation including a succession of mills arranged in a plurality of lines of entraining, means arranged in one line of entrainin at a point intermediate the length thereof and intermediate two of the mills forming that line of entraining for transferring material while in course of being rolled from such line of entraining to another line, together with means for` driving one of the mills in that other line of entraining now at one speed and now at another. o Y 3. In a rolling-mill installation including a succession of mills arranged in a plurality of lines of entraining, means for transferring material in course of rolling from one line of entraining to another, one of said mills being removable from its position in such succession.

4. In a rolling-mill installation including a succession of mills arranged in three parallel lines of entraining, three mills, one in each lme, arranged v1n transverse alinement one with another, two motors, one at either end of such transverse alinement of mills, operative connection from each motor to the mill at the adjacent end of the said transverse line, and-means forv operatively connecting the intcrmediatemill of said transverse line alternately either with the one or with the other of said motors. 5; In a rolling-mill installation the combination of a succession of three mills ar- /ranged in two lines of entraining, two of said mills, the first and the thirdV in the order of operation, arranged one in each of such linesof entraining, and the third mill, the second in the order of operation, being removable from its position in such succession.

6. In a rolling-mill installation the comj bination of three mills arran ed in two lines of entraining, andl a trans er mechanism; two of said mills, the first and the third in order of operation, arranged one in each of such lines of entraining, and the said transfer mechanism arranged on the delivery side of the first'of said mills and in its operation conveying `material under treatment from the first llne of entraining to the second and from the delivery side of the first of said mills to the feed side of the second. 7 In a rolling-mill .installation the combination of three mills -and two transfer mechanisms; the threesaid mills being arranged for' successive operation in two lines of entraining, and the first and the third of said mills (in their order ,of operation) being arranged one 1n each of said lines of.

entraining, the second mill (in order of operation)v being removable, andthe said transfer mechanisms being arranged one on either side of said second and removable 1mill and in'operation conveying the material from onepf said lines of entraining to the other, and adapted, when said' second mill is removed, for coperative operation upon a 60 single piece of material.

- 8. In a rolling-mill'installation the combination of three mills arranged in two. lines of entraining, and two transfer mechanisms,

two of said mills, the first and the third in order of operation, arranged one in each of such lines of entraining, the said transfer mechanisms arranged between the two lines of ventraining and 1n operation conveying material under treatment from the first line to the second, one of said mechanisms being arranged on the delivery side of the mill which stands first in order of operation and in operation carrying material under treatment directly from the delivery side of the first mill to the third, and the other of said transfer mechanisms coperating to carry the material' through all three mills in succession.

9. In a rolling-mill installation the cornbination of three mills and two transfer 8@ mechanisms, the three mills being arranged in two parallel and adjacent lines of entraining, the first and the third of said mills, in order of operation, being arranged in transverse alinement, and the second at one side of such alinement, and the two transfer mechanisms arranged, one of them intermediate the alinement of mills one and three and mill two, and the other beyond mill two, on the side remote from the alinement of mills one and three.

10. In a rolling-mill installation a plurality of mills arranged in three lines of entraining and in two transverse rows, the mills of one row being intermediate, in their order of operating upon material, between two of the mills of the other row, and four transfer mechanisms, two of said transfer mechanisms arranged one either side of the row of intermediate mills (as above characterized) and in operation carrying material under treatment from the rst line of entraining to the second, a third transfer mechanism carrying material under treatment from the second line of entraining to the third, and the fourth transfer mechanism carrying the {inished article from the third line of entraining.

11. In a rolling-mill installation a plurality of mills arranged in three lines of'entraining and in two transverse rows, the

mills of one of the rows being intermediate, in their order yof operating upon. material, between two of the mills of the other row, a reel adjacent the third line of entraining, and a table arranged adjacent the third line of entraining, and four transfer devices, two operating to transfer material under treatment from the first line of entraining to the second, these being arranged .one on either side of the row of mills characterized above as intermediate. the third transfer mechanism operating to transfer material from the second line of entraining to the third, and the fourth transfer mechanism operating to transfer material from* the third line of entraining to said lines of entraining, the first, the third, and the fourth being arranged one' in each of such lines, separate motors for driving the iirst and the fourth of said mills and driving connections alternately lestablished between one or the other of said motors, and the third of said mills.

HENRY G. @BRIEN Witnesses:

BAYARD H. CHRISTY, G. G. TRILL. 

